Special Exhibits

Special Exhibits

Main Gallery

Bonader

Friday, Dec. 12 - Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

One of the most remarkable examples of Scandinavian folk art is the painted picture indigenous to the Swedish peasant home. The commonly used name for these peasant paintings is bonader, and their provenance was to decorate the walls and ceilings of the homes at Christmas time and on feast days, thus adding a note of color and gaiety to the otherwise dark interiors. Between festivities, these canvas or paper panels were taken down and carefully kept, to become a part of the family inheritance. The collection of bonader at the Museum is a collection of extraordinary works on linen and paper, with vegetable and mineral pigments that achieve arrays of color. They were sized for specific wall spaces and hung unframed. Several of the artists were identified, and more than 100 may have practiced the craft. Donated to the Museum in 2000 by the Art Institute of Chicago, the 29 Bonader represent the eighth largest known collection. They originated in 1931 among acquisitions from world traveler Florence Dibell Bartlett of Chicago. Inspired by what she viewed as a decline in creation of folk art, Bartlett acquired pieces she found in 37 countries. She was the founder in 1953 of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Mov Gïele | My Voice

Friday, Jan. 16 – Sunday, April 12
Exhibit opening will be Friday, Jan. 16, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

This exhibit showcases the vibrant and dynamic work of Sámi artist Per Elof Nilsson Ricklund. With roots in the Sámi cultural landscape and a gaze turned toward philosophy, archaeology, and art history, he creates works that carry both memory and movement. His paintings emerge at the intersection between the silence of nature and the noise of civilization, where art becomes a way to understand both the world around us and the inner world.

 

Raoul Wallenberg Gallery

Naturens Rytmer / Rhythms of Nature

Artwork by Maria Jönsson  

Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 – Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026
Exhibit Opening with the artist on Friday, Nov. 7, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

 
Rhythms of Nature features work created by fiber artist Maria
Jonsson, who weaves using recycled materials. Equally inspired
from the natural world of Sweden and northern New Mexico,
Jonsson’s work reflects a sense of wonder that comes from
experiences in nature, as well as humanity’s capacity for art and
visual storytelling.

Metamorphosis

Photographs by Edith-Marie Appleton  

Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 – Sunday, May 10, 2026
Exhibit Opening with Edith-Marie's grandson Albert Goodman on Friday, Feb. 20, 6 p.m.

Born in 1919 in Evanston, Illinois, Edith-Marie Appleton was the youngest of the three children of Albert Ivar and Lillian Charlotte Appleton, both of whom had Swedish roots. Albert Ivar Appleton founded the prosperous Appleton Electric Company in 1903. Along with her two brothers, Edith would go on to work at the family business, contributing as an artist and collaborator for the company catalogues. She also obtained an arts degree in 1941 from Smith College, and worked as a registered nurse at Evanston Hospital during World War II. Her thorough philanthropic involvement and support of the arts was sustained by an underlying personal creativity and commitment to the arts, showcased in this exhibit through portions of her personal photograph collection.

In addition to photography, Edith-Marie played the role of poet and musician in her personal life. Above all, she was known by those closest to her as a restless, creative, and introspective spirit. These photographs, generously donated to the Swedish American Museum by Edith’s son, Albert Goodman, provide a rare and special look into the private lives of the Appleton family, and into Edith’s world in particular. Including natural landscapes, candid portraits, and more, these images, paired with some of Edith’s poetic musings, give us a glimpse into her reality.
 
 
 
 

Andersonville Through the Ages

 

Sponsored by the Lind Family and Created in Collaboration with the DePaul History 391 Class of Spring 2020

In The Lind Room on the Museum's second floor, the Andersonville Through the Ages exhibit showcases how Andersonville became and remained an area rich in Swedish heritage. It illustrates how Andersonville has evolved over the years to incorporate contemporary tastes and hold new community celebrations, all the while holding onto its Swedish character.     

       

 

Traveling Exhibit: Available for Loan

An Ocean Apart: Swedish Immigrant Letters

By the Swedish American Museum

Sponsored by the Swedish Council of America

More than one million Swedes left their homeland between 1850 and 1930. Though they left their home country behind for opportunities abroad, many continued to keep close ties to their family and friends back in Sweden. Often these ties took the form of personal letters written to and from Sweden between parents, children, friends, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles all separated by an ocean, but still able to share their lives with one another. Few historical texts are as interesting and compelling as personal letters. They offer an insight into the lives of early 20th century Swedish immigrants and reveal how they shared many of the same kinds of hopes, interests and even humor that we have today. The letters also give us a look into the past from personal and individual points of view. 

These personal accounts detail the lives of those on both sides of immigration including those who left and those who remained in Sweden. Many of the letters in collection of the Swedish American Museum were written to the immigrants here in the U.S. from friends and family back in Sweden. The letters are a peek into the lives of their writers and receivers from how the crops were doing that year to news about marriages, births and—of course—who else was beginning to feel the pull of “America Fever.” This exhibition contains a selection of stories pulled from the hundreds of letters in the collection of the Swedish American Museum. Discover the world of Swedish immigrants to the United States Midwest, as told by those who lived it.

Exhibition Materials:
•    5 retractable banners 
•    34” (W) x 7’ (L)

If you are interested, please contact Sarah Hawkinson, Curator, at shawkinson@samac.org

 

 

Please note that at times we use exhibit spaces for events during Museum hours and viewing can be limited.

All of our exhibits are wheelchair accessible.

Sponsors of our Temporary Exhibits:

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